Talon (Uncompromising #1)

by Sybil Bartel

“Pick it up by the barrel,” I demanded, shoving my gun even harder against Stone.

  “You won’t shoot me in here,” Stone said confidently.

  “More’n one way to kill a man.”

  “You’ll be on video. There are security cameras all over the store.”

  I swung my elbow out and landed a perfect temple strike. Stone reached for his head and I brought my leg up and kneed him in the balls. He bent at the waist with a grunt and I shoved him to the floor next to the asshole clutching his throat.

  “Pick the gun up,” I said calmly.

  On his knees, one hand on his junk, he grabbed the barrel of the gun and held it up.

  I took it and quickly checked to make sure it was loaded then I aimed it at Stone. Releasing the clip from my own gun, I held it out to Stone, handle first. “Here.”

  The fucking idiot wrapped his hand around it then I yanked it back and shoved it in my waistband. I pressed the muzzle of the gun I was still holding to his swollen temple. “Now your prints are on the gun that killed your son. You wanna play games with me, know who the fuck you’re dealin’ with.”

  Face red, he didn’t say shit.

  I finished what he’d started. “Your compound, your SUVs, your club house, I know where to fuckin’ find you. You come near me or Nicole or Maddie again, losing all your fuckin’ money will be the least of your worries.” He had no idea who he’d fucked with.

  “Have some fucking balls, pull the trigger,” he ground out.

  “You think I won’t?” I leaned toward his ear. “You think the Marines made me soft?” I didn’t wait for an answer. Ruthless, calculated, I grabbed the back of his neck and shoved down as my knee came up. The satisfying crunch of breaking cartilage sounded and blood spewed from his nose. “Does that feel soft?”

  Stone’s hands flew to his face and the weaponless LC rushed me.

  I swung my gun up and aimed at his head. “Just give me a reason to kill you.”

  The LC froze and Stone cursed. “You’re a fucking dead man.”

  “You first,” I said calmly.

  Neil walked up and stood next to me.

  Pinching his nose, Stone shoved to his feet and kicked at the asshole still holding his throat. “Get up.” Glaring at me, he spit at my feet. “This isn’t over.”

  Relentless, I threw it back. “That’s what your son said.”

  Stone took a step toward me.

  “Leave,” Neil commanded.

  Stone dragged his eyes away from me to look at Neil. Radiating hatred and rage, he turned and walked out with his bodyguards on his heels.

  I waited till they were out of sight before I glanced at Neil. “You got nothin’ better to do than follow me?”

  “André called. Said both your and Stone’s vehicles showed up in the same location.”

  André and his fucking tracking shit. I didn’t know if I should be pissed or thankful. “So you came all the way to Daytona?” Neil lived in Ocala.

  “Never left. Business.” He scanned the cribs. “How were you going to get one home?”

  My adrenaline pumping like a motherfucker, I fought to switch gears. “Delivery.”

  “I have the truck.”

  “Great.” Jesus fuck. “You stole all his money?”

  “Not me.”

  “You told Maldonado’s guys where to find it?”

  “And his weapons,” he said without any intonation. “Not much of the compound left. Or LCs. Candle’s still alive. He shoots like he’s military trained.”

  My head swam. “When did this happen?”

  “Last night.” Neil inclined his head at a crib. “That one.”

  “Christ.” I grabbed the crib and lifted it across the top of the shopping cart. “Warn me next time.”

  “Do you have a car seat?”

  “No. And I’m fuckin’ serious. I shoulda been there with you.”

  “Your priority was with the woman and child.”

  “You can say her name. She’s a real fuckin’ person,” I snapped, not even knowing why I was pissed at him. He’d more than done me a solid and I owed him.

  Neil leveled me with a stare and I thought he was going to unleash a proverb on me but instead he surprised the fuck out of me for the second time. “Last night was gratitude. Thirty-two to one.”

  I stared, knowing exactly what he was talking about. “Thirty-one,” I corrected. “I lost one of them.” I’d tried like hell but the little girl he’d brought me one night in Afghanistan had lost too much blood. Her small body had fought to live but in the end, her injuries were too great.

  “You gave her a chance she never would’ve had.”

  Humble fuck. “No, you did.”

  He nodded. “What else does Nicole need?”

  Christ.

  For the next twenty minutes, Neil and I shopped. I didn’t know which was more surreal, the fact that Neil was helping me pick out baby shit or that Stone had walked away alive. Neil was right. My priority now was Siren and Maddie. If I’d been there last night, I would’ve gone after Stone. And going to jail for murder wouldn’t help Siren.

  We loaded all the furniture, diapers, clothes and toys I’d bought into his truck and he followed me back to the house. I thought about calling Siren and warning her I was coming back with company but I didn’t know if she and Maddie were still napping.

  Neil and I carried everything upstairs and the first thing I was hit with was the smell of dinner cooking. The second was the sight of Siren and Maddie on the deck. The slider doors were wide open, a slight ocean breeze was blowing, and the setting sun had turned the sky into a thousand colors of hope.

  The two of them looked up at me.

  Jesus, I could get used to this. “There are my two favorite girls.”

  “Hi.” Siren stood and smiled shyly while I kissed her cheek then she glanced over my shoulder. “Hello, Neil.”

  Maddie’s thumb went in her mouth but she smiled.

  “Nicole,” he said quietly.

  “Can you stay for dinner?”

  Neil glanced at me.

  “Least I can offer for the help.” He knew I didn’t mean crib shopping.

  “Thank you but I have a previous engagement.” Neil nodded at Siren then looked at Maddie. “Hello, Maddie.” He held his hands out. “May I?”

  Neil was big and tall and scary as shit and I would’ve sworn on my mother’s grave that Maddie wouldn’t have gone to him but I should’ve known better. Maddie leaned forward with her arms out like Neil was the Pied fucking Piper.

  Neil’s huge hands dwarfed her as he picked her up. Holding her close, he switched to Danish and quietly spoke to her. The slight upturn of his lips was the closest he ever got to a smile and if I didn’t know better, I’d say I wasn’t the only one who’d fallen for Maddie. A few seconds later, Maddie was nodding at Neil like she understood everything he was saying.

  Neil switched back to English. “Be a good girl for your mother.” He handed her to Siren. “She is beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” Siren hugged Maddie close. “For everything.”

  “You’re welcome.” Neil nodded politely. “I will see myself out.”

  I knew better than to try and walk him out. Instead I shook his hand. “Thanks again.”

  “Until next time,” he said in Danish.

  We watched him leave then I grabbed two beers. “Smells amazin’. You made dinner.” No one had made me dinner in long time.

  “Thank you. It’s chicken and roasted vegetables. It should be ready soon.”

  “Let’s sit on the deck.” I debated telling her about Stone.

  “All right.”

  I followed her out, taking in the sweet curve of her ass and gentle sway of her hips. She gracefully lowered herself into a seat and I was jealous of a fucking deck chair. “You look beautiful.” I kissed her forehead before I sat. Setting the beers down between us, I reached out a hand to Maddie. “Hi, baby girl, you miss me?”

  Shy and sweet, she wrapped her litt
le hand around my finger.

  I smiled. “That’s my girl. You have a good nap?”

  She sucked the thumb in her mouth.

  I glanced at Siren. “She speakin’ yet?”

  A flash of concern furrowed Siren’s brow. “Not yet.”

  “She will. Give her time.” I stroked Maddie’s hair. “You’re just waitin’ for the right moment, aren’t ya, sweetness?”

  She leaned into Siren.

  I took a swig of beer then set the bottle down and held my hands out. “You wanna come sit with me?”

  She quickly turned her head away from me and Siren and I laughed.

  “Fair enough. I’m a patient man.” I looked at Siren and my smile faltered. Jesus, she was pretty.

  “What?”

  I took a swig of beer and stared out at the ocean, wondering how much I’d freak her out if I said what I was thinking. I turned back to her. “We still playin’ it honest?”

  “Yes.”

  I loved the softness of her voice. Inhaling, I went for it. “You remember the night we had dinner out here?”

  She nodded.

  “You, the ocean, the sun settin’, that moment felt pretty damn perfect but this?” I stroked Maddie’s hair. “You and me and Maddie?” I cupped Siren’s cheek and dropped my voice. “This is everythin’ I want.”

  Siren grasped my wrist and leaned into my touch.

  I wanted to kiss her so bad but I waited because I wasn’t looking at the Siren who was a mother. I was looking at the woman who’d sat on the beach wall, scared as hell.

  “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.” She glanced at Maddie. “What if you change your mind?”

  I couldn’t help it, I smiled. “Siren, I was sunk the first moment you fell into my arms. I’m not changin’ my mind. And if you decide you wanna walk away from me, you’re gonna see what it’s like to have me chase the hell outta you.”

  Her eyes filled with water.

  “Hey, hey, hey, no tears, darlin’. Nothin’ doin’, I was only kiddin’, sorta.” I grinned and she laughed but a few tears escaped and ran down her face.

  Maddie glanced between us then she gripped the sides of Siren’s face, one of her little hands pushing mine right out of the way. “Mama.”

  For one shocked moment, Siren and I stared at Maddie then we looked at each other.

  I pointed at Siren and turned back at Maddie. “Who’s this?”

  “Mama.” Sweet, high-pitched, and perfect as hell, Maddie’s little voice sang through the evening air.

  I smiled wide. “Say it again.”

  “Mama,” she said louder.

  I whooped and grabbed Maddie and held her up high. “That’s my baby girl! That’s how you do it. Good girl, sweetness! That’s your Mama, right there.” I nuzzled her nose with mine and she giggled. An honest-to-God giggle. “Oh, darlin’,” I drawled. “I do believe that is the sweetest sound I ever did hear.” I planted a big kiss on her cheek. “Now tell me, who’s your Mama? Point to Mama and I’ll give you back to her.”

  She pointed at Siren.

  “That’s my girl!” I nuzzled her once more and handed her back to a teary-eyed Siren. “See, Mama? All good.”

  My heart soaring, Siren grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me to her. The second her lips met mine, heat seared through my veins, my tongue sunk inside her mouth and I forgot about everything except the feel of this woman.

  “Mama!”

  We pulled apart and burst out laughing.

  “That’s it, baby girl.” I brushed her hair from her face. “That’s your Mama.”

  AFTER DINNER, I SENT SIREN and Maddie to the couch to watch TV while I put the crib together. By the time I went to join them, Maddie was asleep in Siren’s arms. I kissed Siren’s forehead then sunk down on the couch next to her.

  “That’s a beautiful sight, Siren.”

  She looked up at me but she didn’t smile. “She’s so thin and she’s not eating much.”

  I stroked Maddie’s leg. “She will.” Her stomach had probably shrunk from not being fed properly. “But we’ll get her checked out by a pediatrician.” I wrapped my arm around Siren.

  “I know you said not to think about it, about where they had her. But I can’t help it. She was filthy and underfed. Was she…” Siren swallowed. “Was she being abused?” Tears filled her eyes.

  I cupped the back of Siren’s neck and pulled her head to my shoulder. “She’s gonna be fine. She’s not cut or bruised up, she was just a little dirty.” I was taking what I saw in that house to my grave. I would die before I let Siren find out about that cage. “We got her cleaned up. We’ll get some weight back on her and love will fix the rest. Everythin’s gonna be all right, I promise.”

  She nestled into me. “What happened to the woman who had her?”

  “You don’t have to worry ’bout her ever again.”

  “Because?”

  Shit. I ran a hand over my face. “Siren, I don’t wanna have to lie to you but I will if it means keepin’ you safe. Some things you’re better off not knowin’. Some things, I don’t even know. The truth is, when I saw Maddie, I took her and got out of there. I left Neil and André to clean up and I didn’t ask questions because I trust them to have my back. You hear what I’m sayin’?”

  She swiped at an escaped tear but her voice came out strong. “Yes.”

  The Stone thing was weighing on me. “And I want you to trust me. I want you to know I’ll always have your back.”

  “I do and I know you will.”

  I exhaled. “Stone caught up with me today.”

  She sat up and alarm spread across her face. “Where?”

  “At the store when I was buyin’ a crib.”

  She clutched at Maddie.

  “Siren,” I warned. “I don’t want you gettin’ worked up. I’m tellin’ you because I want you to know that I’m not gonna keep shit from you. Everythin’s okay. You’re here and you’re both safe.”

  Her posture relaxed, marginally. “What did he want?”

  “He got hit hard last night in his compound by the cartel he was trying to undercut. He and the few LCs still alive didn’t come out as winners. He was lookin’ to save face by throwing his weight around and trying to intimidate me but Neil and I have leverage over him. Bottom line, he’s not going to be a problem for us anymore.” I wasn’t going to scare her by telling her everything.

  “What do you mean, leverage?”

  I studied her. “Here’s where the trust part comes in.”

  Her shoulders still rigid, her face set, she waited.

  “I’m not gonna tell you. All you need to know is that I’m not gonna let him hurt you or Maddie ever again.”

  She stared at me for three heartbeats then exhaled. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Her quick answer was too easy.

  “Yes. But I don’t know how to turn off six months of fear. I’ll try but I can’t promise you that I’m not going to feel afraid or look over my shoulder or even want to take Maddie anywhere without you by my side.”

  “For now, I don’t want you goin’ anywhere on your own anyway. We’ve got André’s men covering us and I want to be with you and Maddie if you go anywhere. Stone’s not gonna try anythin’ but we’re still gonna take this slow. Understand?”

  She nodded.

  I ran the back of my fingers along her cheek. “For the record, what would take your fear away?”

  She stroked Maddie’s hair. “Short of Stone dying, I don’t know. Moving?”

  “Relocate?” The thought of giving up my house and my business ran through my head but I didn’t know how I felt about that. Shit. If it made Siren feel secure, did I care?

  Siren backtracked. “Forget it. I know your life is here.”

  Just like that, my mind was made up. “Darlin’, if I have any say in it, you’re my life now.” I glanced at the beautiful child in her arms. “You both are.” I took Siren’s hand. “I don’t have a problem with a fresh start.”

 
“But your business, your house.”

  “We’ll buy another one.”

  She frowned. “We?”

  “Yeah.” I smiled. “As long as it’s oceanfront, you can pick the house.”

  “Talon.” She glanced away for a second then looked back at me with determination. “I don’t have any money.”

  I chuckled. “I’m buyin’.”

  Her eyebrows drew together. “It’s true?”

  “What’s true?”

  “That you’re rich?”

  I came in easy. “I bought you a Range Rover today. Its bein’ delivered tomorrow.” Shit. I hadn’t thought to ask. “Do you have a license?”

  Her eyes went wide as fuck. “A Range Rover?” she squeaked. “I don’t, I don’t,” she stuttered. “I don’t need a Range Rover.”

  “No, darlin’, you probably don’t but I wanted you to have one anyway. I want you safe when you’re drivin’ Maddie around.”

  “But they’re too expensive.”

  I went for full disclosure. “I came from nothin’. My mama had to rub pennies together to put food on the table some nights. When I married Leigh, I knew she’d had a privileged upbringin’ but I didn’t know how privileged. I didn’t ask and she never mentioned it. We lived comfortably on my salary. It wasn’t until she died that I found out how rich she’d been. She was an only child and her father had made millions. She left her entire estate to me. I went from having a checkin’ account and a small savin’s to needin’ a team to manage a portfolio but honestly? I’m a simple man. I like to surf and I like to be by the water. I bought the business and the house after she died and it didn’t even make a dent in what she’d left me.” I let out the air I’d been holding in my lungs and for the first time, I didn’t feel any of the guilt I usually fought when I thought about everything Leigh had left me. In fact, I didn’t feel guilty at all. I felt fucking grateful. And I realized something. If Leigh could see me now, she would be happy for me. “That’s the long and short of it.”

  “I didn’t come to you because I thought you were rich.”

  I smiled and stroked her cheek. “I know.” Jesus, I knew.

  She stared at me like she was stunned.

  “What’s goin’ on in that pretty head of yours?”

  Her tongue darted out and she licked her bottom lip before pulling it between her teeth. “I was right. You are a lot to take in.”